FERRYMEAD Tram Tracts The Journal of the Tramway Historical Society Issue 10—Nov-Dec. 2016 Bruce Maffei presents… The Standard Trailers (Part Three) Christchurch’s ‘Standard’ trailers retire and find new homes The THS Membership Drive Photos and a report from our latest major event Vale — Allen Harbrow 1944-2016 Dave Hinman remembers the life of one of our most passionate members The Tramway Historical Society P. O. Box 1126 , Christchurch 81401 - www.ferrymeadtramway.org.nz First Notch President’s Piece—Graeme Belworthy Hi All with a new fence along our boundary with the car park. There is still plenty of work to do but we are Over the weekend of 19 & 20 slowly getting through it. November the Society held two open days. I would like to The normal work to ensure the trams and buses thank all the members who continue to operate which is the public face of the came and helped out. We had Society still goes on behind the scenes. John Harris quite a few visitors and all has just resumed doing the roster, offering sincere seemed interested in what thanks to Phyllis for keeping it going during his we were doing. Several recent illness. With the upcoming school holidays indicated that they may be please support John by letting him know when you interested in joining us and in can help, to ensure we can fulfill our obligation to fact we have had some have provide a tram service. already joined. I would like to welcome those It is with sadness we record the passing of a Society visitors who indicated they would like to receive member with the recent death of Kirk Hayes. Our further information about the Society. This is our thoughts go out to his family and friends in their monthly newsletter but is unfortunately the last for time of grief. this year, but will recommence in early February. Another year is all but over, and they seem to be Now that the Open Day is over we will hold the getting shorter and shorter. Phyllis and I would like COTMA Conference debrief meeting in the next to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy week or so. Over all the conference seem to go very New Year. The 17 December will be the last work well with no problems. day of the year and probably about mid-January Problems with the grass cutting contract around before we return. Please enjoy the break and we the site have now been sorted out and it will be cut will see you in the New Year. on a regular bases and is already looking much Cheers, better. Work on improving the site is continuing Graeme Alastair’s Angle—Alastair Cross Welcome to your latest issue of the ‘Standard’ trailers of Christchurch, with a look at Tracts. This month, the big news is their withdrawal and disposal. Just two are known to our Membership Drive earlier in survive in the THS collection now, with a third potentially November, and although we didn’t still residing at Lake Ohau — the famous ‘Last Tram’ quite get the turnout we were trailer No. 201 — and a fourth recently resurfaced thanks hoping for, nonetheless we are to the sleuthing of Graeme Richardson. But which trailer pleased to welcome any new is it? You’ll have to wait until February 2017 to find out! members who may have joined as This is the last Tracts for 2016, and it’s been a little more a result of our event. than a year since I took over the reins from Joe Pickering Thanks to the kind efforts of Dave who I’m sure is enjoying his well-earned retirement from Hinman, we have an obituary this his second stint in the role of Editor-in-Chief. Thus far, month for the late Allen Harbrow, the feedback that I’ve received has been mostly good, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. As it though of course if anyone would like to make any turns out, Allen was an incredibly well-rounded fellow suggestions on how to improve Tracts (!), please do so. with a multitude of interests, including buses which we After all, this is your magazine, and I welcome feedback. at the THS are only too familiar with. I’m sure none of us That’s it for 2016, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas will be likely to forget his shocking pink ‘Shaguar’ ex- and happy New Year. party bus in the Ferrymead car-park! There were croaks of distaste at its colour scheme, but Allen had brought it Cheers, for another reason — it was an ex-Midland Motorways Alastair bus, and he was planning to restore it as part of the Bus Museum he was trying to set up. This month also sees the end of Bruce Maffei’s series on 2 Notices LAST WORKDAY FOR 2016 The last THS Work Day for 2016 will be held on Saturday, 17th December 2016. Alan Roi will once again provide a full cooked lunch, this time with a festive flavour. All members are welcome to attend and are encouraged to do so if they can. HELP NEEDED FOR ‘STANDARD’ TRAILER 126 DISPLAY Dave Hinman advises that help is needed to complete part of the bach display set up in ‘Standard’ trailer 126. As part of our Membership Drive, Dave and his team set up the interior of the trailer to show its post-retirement use as a holiday bach, including recreating the former kitchenette in an end platform. As the Society didn’t have a suit‐ able small cooker at the time , Dave borrowed one for the weekend from the Hall of Wheels at Ferrymead Heritage Park, as shown below. As we have so far been unable to find a suitable old cooker to fit the space through any sec‐ ond-hand retailer, Trade Me etc, we are now asking our members to assist us in helping to find such a cooker which might be available for display, preferably by donation or at a reasonable/affordable price. The cooker dimensions are 450mm high by 450mm wide by 450 deep. If you have or know of a surplus cooker with these or similar dimensions , we would love to hear from you. The unit does not need to be in working order. Editor's note: Dave states — and I concur — that the cooker as used, an Atlas “Lodge”, was an excellent fit for 126. It clearly shows that the fire damage at the northern end of the trailer was caused by a stovetop fire. Advance Notice — February 2017 Function FUNCTION : Wednesday, February 15TH 2017 7.00 PM sharp Where: Tram Barn Cost: $5.00 What: One of John Shanks’ wonderful mystery sunset tours, starting and ending at the Tram Barn. Only John knows where the middle is going, but it is sure to be very interesting and exciting. Please wear shoes suitable for walking 3 Vale—Allen Harbrow 1944-2016 We were shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden and untimely passing of Allen Har- brow in September. It soon became apparent that the THS only knew one side of Allen, and Dave Hinman kindly penned this tribute to an outstanding individual with a few notes from our editor, Alastair Cross. It was with surprise and sadness that we learned of Allen’s unexpected passing on September 4th. He had lived a very full life, and many of those who attended his service discovered we only knew some of his story. Here are just some glimpses. Much of Allen’s career was with the Public Service. He spent many years with the Statistics Department, and is recorded as being the ”Project Manager Processing” for the 2001 NZ census. After his retirement, he continued voluntary work in this sector serving firstly in 2004 as a volunteer organising and running the first census of the newly independent East Timor. Allen was with the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNPFA) and was the Chief Technical adviser for the census. Then in 2009, again through the UNPFA, he was the Technical Adviser for the Solomon Islands census and this time his wife Maureen also helped with the running of the census. He enjoyed travel and using motor homes both in New Zealand and Australia, would often vanish with Maureen over the winter months to explore warmer climes. Allen was a closet train enthusiast with his own model railway and then in 2005 he became involved with the “12 inch to the foot” scale by joining the Tramway Historical Society. As with many of his endeavours, he was soon enthusiastically involved in Society affairs, firstly with the trams and then with the buses which became his main passion and interest in later years. He joined the Society’s Operations committee in 2010, the Bus Committee in 2011 and was elected to the Management Committee in 2012. He had by then also developed an interest in the Society’s library and scanned many of our photos and other records, taking over from the late Trevor Craib as the “go to” person for researchers, including enquiries from relatives of ex -CTB staff tracing their family histories. In the THS Goals and Projects document he was identified as the project leader for this area of the Society’s endeavours. Alan’s artistic and literary skills were shown in his production of line drawings of some of our trams for children to colour in, a DVD for conductor training “Bells and Whistles DVD for Conductors” and a children’s booklet featuring Dunedin tram No.